More than a Cold
by Kuresa
Summary: Beads of perspiration trickled down from Edward's forehead; pass his bright red cheeks and down to his chin. His face was ghostly pale. He had been sick for a few days now and it only seemed to get worse. Another fanfic where Ed is sick and comforted by Roy.
1. Chapter 1

"Brother… Hey brother, are you alright?" Alphonse asked, his voice sounding concerned.

Beads of perspiration trickled down from Edward's forehead; pass his bright red cheeks and down to his chin. His face was ghostly pale. He had been sick for a few days now and it only seemed to get worse, especially ever since Edward got on the train ride to central. Even when Ed was asleep, Al could tell his breathing was uneven and laboured.

"Edward?" Al extended an arm and reached out to shake his brother ever so gently. A tiny moan of discomfort responded unconsciously. "Brother, are you okay? Wake up." Alphonse tried again. Edward coughed a few times. His back hunched over slightly and he subconsciously used his flesh hand to cover his mouth. Heavy eyelids opened slowly. Al watched guiltily as Edward blinked the sleep from his eyes. His elder brother looked so tired, so sleepy it almost made his heart melt.

"Brother, are you feeling well?" clearly not but Al knew Ed was far too stubborn to ever admit that to anyone.

"I'm fine". Edward replied weakly, slumping back on his train seat. He despised bumpy, stuffy, obnoxiously long train rides. But what he hated even more was how Alphonse, he younger brother, always concerned himself with trivial matters such as a cold.

"Brother, you don't sound so well and your appearance is even worse." Al said worriedly as the train stopped.

Ed let out a long breath.

"Let's go Al."

Edward simply brushed off the topic like he always did when it was something concerning his health, but not this time. This time, Alphonse wouldn't let it slide just like that. He wanted to get to the bottom of this… _even if this was his headstrong, near impossible to deal with brother_ Al sighed as he went after Edward.

A walk from the station to central wasn't very far Ed thought relieved as he turned a corner. He'd been so tired lately and also lacked quite a lot of sleep due to the assignments that were given to him from the Colonel_ bastard. _Sure Edward would have loved to head straight to his dorm and rest the day away. However the deadline was coming up and he'd much rather hand in the damn report to the bastard today, than get an earful from him the very next day.

*Cough*Cough*Cough*

Edward slowed down and arched forward. Wheezing and panting.

"Brother, are you alright?" Al asked patting his older brother on the back.

"I-I'm o-oka—"

Edward fell down to his knees, his chest was burning up. He continued his hacking coughs even harder now and released one hand from his chest to cover his mouth. He felt something wet. Ed slowly removed his gloved hand, shocked to see his own blood on it. He'd better not let Alphonse see it or he'd surely make a huge—

"BROTHER!" Al shrieked.

Although Al was practically a suit of armour, Ed could still imagine his alarmed face right then.

"'D-Don't worry Al. I'm perfectly f-fine." Ed waved off catching his breath, hoping to assure his younger brother, that he was what he had said.

"No! Your clearly not!" Al exclaimed and grabbed onto Edward's blood stained glove for examination and proof.

Edward pulled away. "Alphonse, it's just a little cold… It'll go away." He protested weakly.

"_Just a cold_? Brother, you're coughing up blood and you're saying this is _just_ a cold?! Al enraged but didn't manage to hide his worry.

"Alphonse." Ed chuckled feebly. "When has being sick ever killed me?" he reassured and walked onwards unsteadily, leaving behind a baffled Alphonse.

_Clearly_ Edward didn't take his health as nearly as seriously as the younger did but… "But this might be serious brother!" Al caught up "Let's just get you to a doctor." He said a little more softly.

Ed halted.

"B-Brother...?"

His antennae sticked straight up.

He slowly turned his head around.

"NO WAY IN HELL AM I EVER GOING TO A DOCTOR!" Edward raced off.

"Wait brother!"

Alphonse let out a long, heavy, sigh.

"Why..…WHY ARE YOU SO IRRESPONSIBLE!" he yelled and dashed right after Edward.

Ed sure regretted his choice of all that running and hollering, because now he felt even sicker. They were three quarters way to central. A quarter away till he would have to hand in his report to the shitty Colonel and listen to all his insults and complaints about his height and hand writing. Why did that bastard care anyway? Edward regarded his height as _very_ normal and not _undersized _at allfor his age. As for his handwriting, he was right handed. There was nothing he could do about his arm that was gone. Not yet anyway. Maybe not any time sooner if the Colonel continued to send him loads of crap that always led to a dead end. Just thinking about the bastard made his blood boil as he paused and let out a few small coughs. A migraine was painfully building up.

"Hey brother, I've been meaning to ask you something…" Alphonse began.

Ed tried to pick up what his brother was saying but his mind felt so…so hazy…

"Y-Yeah Al? What is it?" his words came out hoarse and far different to what he expected. Lucky enough, Al seemed to not have noticed, being so focused and determined to continue.

*Cough*Cough*

Edward's breaths grew quicker and shorter. His head was getting incredibly dizzy.

"Ed? Brother, what's the matter?" Al asked questioningly but concerned nonetheless.

Edward found it getting increasingly difficult to breathe. He staggered and fell towards one of the nearby walls, pushing his body up against it to keep him from falling. Surprised to see how difficult it was to stand, he collapsed to the ground, panting and clutching his chest, trying to get some air through his lungs.

"Brother!" Al cried as he bent his huge suit of heavy armour down to help a poor suffocating Ed.

Was that Al's voice? It sounded… so…_distant…_

Edward's breathing began to speed up even faster as he gasped desperately for air. He felt two large arms attempting to lift him up, trying to get him to relax.

"Calm down brother!"

Ed could hear Al's faint voice but couldn't exactly grasp what he was saying.

"C-ant breath." He barely managed in a raspy voice between quick breaths. Everything around him was getting blurry; his eyelids were starting to feel like they weighted a ton or two. All the energy had drained out of him.

Slowly he let his eyes close.


	2. Chapter 2

_A bright flash of light engulfed the room…then suddenly, it all went black._

_What was happening…? Where was he…who was he?_

_He couldn't see… everything was just pitch black. Cloud he move? Feel? Perhaps speak? Or even hear? He tried all of them but somehow, all of his senses just seemed to forsaken him. So he just stayed right there for a while, in his non-existent yet existing form. _

…

…

_*Drip*Drip*_

_What was that?_

_A glimpse of light pierced though the surrounding darkness. He could hear a faint voice coming from it, a voice calling to him?_

_Please wait…_

_He extended towards the dim light. It was getting brighter. The voice called to him again, but this time he could hear it._

"_Alphonse" It said._

_What was an Alphonse? Was that a name…his name? Not wanting to get left alone in the darkness, he reached out towards the light and grabbed it, letting it dominate him completely._

"_A-Alphonse?"_

_Where was he now? He slowly opened his eyes. His blurred vision certainly wasn't perfect but he knew what he saw. _

_In the midst of all the smoke, he could see dripping red…lots of it._

_He shut his eyes and reopened them. _

_His sight became clearer as he narrowed his eyes towards the dripping red. It was… moving. He got up from his laying-down position and approached the figure, he gasped at what he saw. Blond hair, golden eyes and two missing limbs lying in a pool of blood, bleeding endlessly._

"_B-Brother?"_

_His voice! What came over him? Why did he…oh, that's right, he had a brother! But why was he here? Ah! Hang on. This was the very night when they tried to transmute their very own mother! That means the boy lying in a pool of blood was his brother, and Alphonse…was indeed him!_

"_Brother!" Al cried rushing to Edward's side._

"_S-Sorry Al." _

"_Brother what happened to me? And…your arm…"_

"_With my arm…the only thing I could do…was put your soul in some amour standing around there."_

_Edward winced in pain when Alphonse lifted him up._

"_Brother… and what happened to mom?"_

"_S-She… wasn't even human"._

_Al shuddered in fear, shock and disgust as his sight left Edward's small critically injured frame, to the gruesome monster they created._

"_Oh… but why? Your theory should have been perfect!"_

"_N-No Al, my theory wasn't wrong… It was us who were wrong". With that, Edward coughed up all the more blood he had to offer, and then fainted in Al's cold arms._

"_Brother! No... No..! NO!"  
_

* * *

Alphonse clutched his older brother even harder as the painful memories flowed into his mind. He was so desperate. Back then in Resembool, when they tried to transmute their mother and Edward got critically injured. He carried his brother through the harsh downpour to granny Pinako's house and she would fix him up. But who could do that now that they were in central? Who would help his brother?

Al looked sadly down at Ed. He was shivering cold from the rain and had the same agonizing expression of pain. Small whimpers and moans escaping his mouth and he parted his lips, trying to take in air, air that his body wouldn't let him.

God, his brother looked so ill, so hurt. Alphonse was on the verge of tears, he hated seeing Edward like this. His strong willed, knuckle head brother, suffering because of some sickness.

"A-Al…" Edward whined. His voice was tense and barely audible.

Al hugged his brother tight "I'm so sorry brother… I don't know what to do." He whispered despondently.

_I don't know who can help you…_

* * *

*Tap*tap*tap*tap*

Four fingers tapped continuously, in an obnoxious manner on a desk, very tempted to snap at any moment. An extreme irritation was stirring up within Roy Mustang's chest, as he impatiently watched the clock on his table side tick away… ticking away his precious time. If it wasn't for a _certain _person right now, a _certain undersized brat_ who was supposed to arrive at 3'o clock, who was _also exactly forty-one minutes _late. He would most definitely, be sitting anywhere else than _here,_ stuck behind his office table. But of course on the one day, the _one day_ that he managed to complete most of his important paperwork, Fullmetal just had to go along and ruin it_, typical._

The weather didn't seem to want to play a part in improving his mood since it was thundering hard against his window. He _hated _rain. The unpleasant cold, dull grey skies and even just the sound of it pitter pattering made him want to snap!

"I_ swear_ I am going to _kill _him!" Roy declared loudly to his five crew members who were already instinctively setting up a defensive barrier with furniture.

"I am_ literally_ going to set that _Fullmetal runt _ablaze and slowly scorch his flesh while watching him being reduced to ashes!" he mumbled.

"D-Didn't he call yesterday to say that he would be arriving to central at two thirty sir? Maybe he is running late because of the r-rain." Fuery suggested behind the defensive barrier, poking his head up just above the office table that was flipped over to the side.

"Fuery, it's bloody three forty five! I pacifically told him, to call me as soon as he arrived. Presides, nobody can ever be that late despite the weather!" Roy exclaimed annoyed. He didn't mean to be so cold to the young technician but he was well and truly fed up with Fullmetal's attendance.

"I dunno colonel." Havoc's voice was heard behind the barrier. "The thunderstorm looks pretty nasty sir, perhaps he really did get held back a bit in the weather".

"This is the Fullmetal were talking about" Roy said. "Do you guys really think some ridiculous weather can pull that brat down?"

"Sir, he is still a child regardless of his capable abilities" Riza reminded him, not even looking up from her paper work. "Maybe you really should go check on him."

Roy let out a heavy, exasperated sigh. Knowing his fearsome lieutenant, he probably should obey.

"Might as well."

He grabbed his coat and keys, and paused at the door.

"I'll be back after I find that Fullmetal runt". He added as he exited.

"Phew!"

"Guess he really does care about the boss". Breda said, and the others smiled as they started packing away the furniture.

* * *

Alphonse wondered if it was getting any colder because Edward pale frame was shivering furiously in his arms. Beads of precipitation mixed with sweat dripped down his golden strands of hair.

"I-its s-so c-col-d A-Al" Edward trembled in his raspy cracked voice.

"I-I want t-to go h-home." He mewled.

"Brother, we no longer have…"

_a home to go back to…_

Al was emotionally crying. He wished for the storm to pass so he could bring Ed to a safe place, out of this freezing shelter. So he could get some help and to see his brother's smile again. He tried holding Edward closer to provide any warmth he possibly could, but that was futile for a metal suit of armour. Alphonse could tell that his brother wouldn't last much longer in his condition.

"Brother… I'll get you home, I promise…but until then, please wait with me… don't fade away Edward… don't leave me".

The rhythm of Ed's chest, rising and falling became slower, and weaker, and then it suddenly stopped.

His half lidded eyes closed.

"Brother no…no…please! You promised we would get our body's back together right? Didn't you say that if anything was in our way, we would defeat it?! Didn't you say that even if you get knocked down, you would get back on your feet and walk forwards? Brother…you have to fight this on your own!"

Alphonse clenched his brother's cold body hopelessly.

"You have to fight Edward…" he cried softly.

A gust of wind and rain blew against Al, as a military car halted right in front of the shelter.

A man wearing a black coat with the blue military uniform stepped out from the car. It was the colonel!

"Alphonse!" Roy quickly caught sight of the limp, pale body in Alphonse's arm. He bent down, draped his coat around Edward, and placed two fingers down onto his cold skin to check his pulse. It was far too weak and unsteady to be considered normal, but it was there.

"Shit…Fullmetal. Al, what's wrong with your brother?!" Roy asked cautiously.

…

"Please…" Al whimpered "Please help my brother!"


End file.
